World's Best Islands

No. 3 Cape Breton, Canada

Readers love Cape Breton for its captivating vistas—cliff-backed beaches; forested headlands studded with lighthouses—which is why the island, in Nova Scotia, hasn’t dropped below the No. 2 ranking in the Continental U.S. and Canada since 2005. Local culture commingles Scottish, Acadian, Irish, African, and native Mi’kmaq influences, and is fueled by music, from Celtic-style fiddling played in parish halls to the popular Thursday night ceilidh (kay-lee) dance gathering.